Design and planning of infrastructure in urban developments without specific attention to social and institutional arrangements may undermine community resilience. However, social and institutional enablers of resilience can be fostered by policy makers, developers, utility providers and other stakeholders.

The trend towards larger, detached, energy intensive dwellings in poorly serviced, low-density, urban fringe locations, leaves governments, households and communities vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The planning and design of new outer urban areas, and the retrofitting of existing ones, affects the extent to which communities can adapt to changing climactic conditions. Policy...

Assessing resilient urban systems examines some key findings arising from research on the resilience and adaptive capacity of energy and water infrastructure systems in two Melbourne housing developments – one in the city’s outer north and the other in a rapidly gentrifying inner suburb.